President of the Council of Ministers

This article explains the head of government of Italy, on the office of the European Union ("EU Council President") see Presidency of the Council of the European Union .

President of the Council of Ministers
Standard of the Prime Minister
Acting Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
Official seat	Palazzo Chigi
Term of office	5 years (further terms of office possible)
Creation of office	March 16, 1848 (in Sardinia-Piedmont; taken over by Italy on March 17, 1861)
Last appointment	June 1, 2018
confirmation	June 6, 2018
website	www.governo.it

The Palazzo Chigi - the official residence of the Prime Minister

The President of the Council of Ministers ( Italian Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri ) is the head of government of Italy . In German he is usually briefly referred to as Prime Minister . An alternative literal equivalent of the official title would be President of the Council of Ministers , as he chairs the Council of Ministers (cabinet).

The prime minister is first appointed by the state president and then confirmed by both chambers of parliament by means of a vote of confidence in a roll-call vote. He and the government depend on the trust of both chambers of parliament. He maintains the uniformity of the direction in politics and administration by promoting and coordinating the activities of the ministers. In terms of protocol , the Prime Minister is fourth after the President and the Presidents of the two chambers of parliament. As head of government he plays a central political role, but in coalition governments his ability to act depends on the majority structure, which in Italy was often unstable in the past.

The official seat of the Italian Prime Minister is the Palazzo Chigi in Rome . The Presidency of the Council of Ministers supports him there .

Giuseppe Conte has been Prime Minister of Italy since June 1, 2018 .

history

The office of the Italian Prime Minister has a Piedmontese history, because the Italian national state emerged from the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont in March 1861 and its constitution of 1848 ( Statuto Albertino ) remained in force even after the Italian unification . It can be traced back to the office of First State Secretary , Duke Charles III. of Savoy officially established in 1521, as well as the even older office of Chancellor of Savoy. The Constitution of 1848 , according to the executive branch was the king and the ministers who together formed the government. The constitution did not provide for a prime minister, or a government that was dependent on parliamentary confidence. Nevertheless, the Savoy, as constitutional monarchs, allowed both in so-called “Liberal Italy” until 1925.

In the absence of constitutional status and their own administrative structure and because of their dependence on the king and parliament, the prime ministers had a weak position at the time. They usually exercised their office in personal union with that of a specialist minister, usually with that of the interior minister , who at that time had a strong position because of the centralized state structure. Because of the political situation, the prime ministers and governments changed frequently at the time. Camillo Benso von Cavour , who with his third cabinet formed the last Piedmontese and the first Italian government, as well as Giovanni Lanza , Agostino Depretis and Giovanni Giolitti , who gave significant economic and social impetus between 1900 and 1914, are among the most important Prime Ministers of this era .

The liberal era ended by Benito Mussolini , who from 1925 forced a dictatorial one-party system with his fascists . He had the office of “head of government, prime minister and state secretary” created by law, which was endowed with generous policy authority . In addition, he was chairman of the Grand Fascist Council , which on July 25, 1943 expressed suspicion to him. After the end of fascism, due to the military occupation of the country and the lack of an elected parliament, it was initially impossible to return to the old, liberal constitutional order, also because the election for the Constituent Assembly on June 2 and 3, 1946, also voted on the future form of government and Italy became a republic. During this transitional period from September 1943 to July 1946, the Prime Ministers ruled under the supervision of the Western Allies, initially without a parliament, and from April 1945 onwards with the parliamentary advisory body Consulta nazionale .

With the republican constitution , which came into force on January 1, 1948 , the office of Italian prime minister came into being under constitutional law. The constitution does not interpret this office in a decidedly weak way; it remained apparently weak because of the unstable party political conditions and the resulting frequent changes of government. In fact, however, the Christian Democratic Party with its small coalition partners remained in power without interruption until the early 1990s, also because a takeover of government by the Communist Party appeared unacceptable. The changes in government were mostly due to disputes within these coalitions, but there were no significant changes in the basic political constellation. The government offices remained for a long period of time with a relatively small group of people, whose members often only moved from one office to another when there was a change of government. Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi formed eight cabinets from 1945 to 1953, Giulio Andreotti seven and Amintore Fanfani six. In exceptionally difficult times, non-party experts took over the office of prime minister, such as Carlo Azeglio Ciampi ( Ciampi cabinet 1993/94), Lamberto Dini ( Dini cabinet 1995/96) and Mario Monti ( Monti cabinet 2011 to 2013). The long-time Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also became known for his conflicts of interest and scandals.

Constitutional position

Appointment, confirmation and end of term

Taking into account the majority in parliament and after consulting the leaders of the political parties represented in parliament, the president appoints the prime minister and, on his suggestion, appoints the ministers. At the suggestion of the individual ministers, the prime minister appoints the state secretaries in the various ministries .

With the swearing-in of the Prime Minister and the Ministers by the President, the government is in office. However, it must be confirmed by both chambers of parliament by means of a vote of confidence . It remains dependent on the trust of both chambers of parliament. The Prime Minister does not have the power to appoint or dismiss ministers independently. He can, however, resign, which means the end of the entire government, and again come to parliament for a vote of confidence with a reshaped cabinet appointed by the state president. Parliament can overthrow the prime minister and thus his government as a whole at any time by means of a vote of no confidence or remove individual ministers from the government by means of an individual vote of no confidence. After a voluntary resignation of the Prime Minister, a vote of no confidence or after the dissolution of parliament and new elections, he usually remains in office with the government until a new government is sworn in. In these cases, however, the President of the Republic can also appoint another person to run the government. If a new President is elected by Parliament during the Prime Minister's term of office, the Prime Minister is expected to resign; normally the president then asks the prime minister to withdraw his resignation.

A full term of office of the Prime Minister corresponds to a full five-year term of parliament. The constitution does not expressly limit one or more terms of office or legislative terms. As a rule, Italian governments do not remain in office for a full term.

Competencies

Article 95 of the Italian Constitution is worded as follows:

“The Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri dirige la politica generale del Governo e ne è responsabile. Mantiene l'unità di indirizzo politico ed amministrativo, promuovendo e coordinando l'attività dei ministri. I Ministri sono responsabili collegialmente degli atti del Consiglio dei ministri, e individualmente degli atti dei loro dicasteri. La legge provvede all'ordinamento della Presidenza del Consiglio e determina il numero, le attribuzioni e l'organizzazione dei ministeri. "

“The President of the Council of Ministers determines the general policy of the government and takes responsibility for it. He maintains the uniformity of the direction in politics and administration by promoting and coordinating the activities of the ministers. The ministers are jointly responsible for the actions of the Council of Ministers and individually for the actions of their portfolio. The law regulates the structure of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers and stipulates the number, scope and organization of the ministries. "

Council of Ministers Room (Cabinet Room) in Palazzo Chigi

For a long time, the position of the Italian Prime Minister within the Council of Ministers or Cabinet was interpreted as primus inter pares , which had no political guideline competence like the German Chancellor , but was more comparable to the Austrian Chancellor . This interpretation became common due to the constitutional reality with the difficult party political conditions and unstable coalition governments. The electoral system is an essential factor for the prime minister's actual political power . A purely proportional representation system tends to weaken the prime minister's position, while a majority electoral system or a majority bonus can strengthen him. If the prime minister and his party do not need a coalition partner, he can really make full use of Article 95 of the constitution.

In 2007, the reform of Italy's intelligence services brought the prime minister an increase in power. Until the reform, the intelligence services were subordinate to the defense and interior ministers . A coordinating body was located at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers . The foreign intelligence service AISE and the domestic service AISI have been subordinate to the Prime Minister since 2007 . The two services are coordinated by a department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers . In December 2015, a law came into force that allows the Prime Minister, after hearing the parliamentary committee for the control of the intelligence services, to order the use of special military forces in the context of intelligence operations if a crisis abroad affects the national security of Italy or if the protection of Italians Citizens abroad cannot be guaranteed otherwise.

The Prime Minister is also responsible for civil protection at the national level .

List of incumbents

Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont (1848–1861)

• List of Prime Ministers of the Kingdom of Sardinia

Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)

Term of office from	to	Prime Minister
(March 17, 1861)	March 23, 1861	Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour (3rd term)
March 23, 1861	June 6, 1861	Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour (4th term)
June 12, 1861	March 3, 1862	Bettino Ricasoli
March 3, 1862	December 8, 1862	Urbano Rattazzi
December 8, 1862	March 24, 1863	Luigi Carlo Farini
March 24, 1863	September 28, 1864	Marco Minghetti
September 28, 1864	December 31, 1865	Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora
December 31, 1865	June 17, 1866	Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora (2nd term)
June 17, 1866	April 11, 1867	Bettino Ricasoli (2nd term)
April 11, 1867	October 27, 1867	Urbano Rattazzi (2nd term)
October 27, 1867	January 5, 1868	Federico Luigi, Conte Menabrea
January 5, 1868	May 13, 1869	Federico Luigi, Conte Menabrea (2nd term)
May 13, 1869	December 14, 1869	Federico Luigi, Conte Menabrea (3rd term)
December 14, 1869	July 9, 1873	Giovanni Lanza
July 10, 1873	March 18, 1876	Marco Minghetti (2nd term)
March 25, 1876	December 26, 1877	Agostino Depretis
December 26, 1877	March 23, 1878	Agostino Depretis (2nd term)
March 24, 1878	December 19, 1878	Benedetto Cairoli
December 19, 1878	July 14, 1879	Agostino Depretis (3rd term)
July 14, 1879	November 25, 1879	Benedetto Cairoli (2nd term)
November 25, 1879	May 29, 1881	Benedetto Cairoli (3rd term)
May 29, 1881	May 25, 1883	Agostino Depretis (4th term)
May 25, 1883	March 30, 1884	Agostino Depretis (5th term)
March 30, 1884	June 29, 1885	Agostino Depretis (6th term)
June 29, 1885	May 30, 1886	Agostino Depretis (7th term)
May 30, 1886	April 4, 1887	Agostino Depretis (8th term)
April 4, 1887	July 29, 1887	Agostino Depretis (9th term)
July 29, 1887	March 9, 1889	Francesco Crispi
March 9, 1889	February 6, 1891	Francesco Crispi (2nd term)
February 6, 1891	May 15, 1892	Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì
May 15, 1892	December 15, 1893	Giovanni Giolitti
December 15, 1893	March 10, 1896	Francesco Crispi (3rd term)
March 10, 1896	July 11, 1896	Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì (2nd term)
July 11, 1896	December 14, 1897	Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì (3rd term)
December 14, 1897	June 1, 1898	Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì (4th term)
June 1, 1898	June 29, 1898	Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì (5th term)
June 29, 1898	May 14, 1899	Luigi Pelloux
May 14, 1899	June 24, 1900	Luigi Pelloux (2nd term)
June 24, 1900	February 15, 1901	Giuseppe Saracco
February 15, 1901	September 3, 1903	Giuseppe Zanardelli
September 3, 1903	March 12, 1905	Giovanni Giolitti (2nd term)
March 12, 1905	March 27, 1905	Tommaso Tittoni
March 28, 1905	December 24, 1905	Alessandro Fortis
December 24, 1905	February 8, 1906	Alessandro Fortis (2nd term)
February 8, 1906	May 29, 1906	Sidney Sonnino
May 29, 1906	December 10, 1909	Giovanni Giolitti (3rd term)
December 11, 1909	March 31, 1910	Sidney Sonnino (2nd term)
March 31, 1910	March 29, 1911	Luigi Luzzatti
March 30, 1911	March 19, 1914	Giovanni Giolitti (4th term)
March 21, 1914	October 31, 1914	Antonio Salandra
November 5, 1914	June 18, 1916	Antonio Salandra (2nd term)
June 18, 1916	October 30, 1917	Paolo Boselli
October 30, 1917	June 23, 1919	Vittorio Emanuele Orlando
June 23, 1919	May 21, 1920	Francesco Saverio Nitti
May 21, 1920	June 15, 1920	Francesco Saverio Nitti (2nd term)
June 15, 1920	4th July 1921	Giovanni Giolitti (5th term)
4th July 1921	February 26, 1922	Ivanoe Bonomi
February 26, 1922	August 1, 1922	Luigi Facta
August 1, 1922	October 28, 1922	Luigi Facta (2nd term)
October 30, 1922	July 25, 1943	Benito Mussolini (Duce)
July 25, 1943	April 17, 1944	Pietro Badoglio (Provisional Military Government)
April 22, 1944	June 8, 1944	Pietro Badoglio (provisional military government, 2nd term)
June 18, 1944	December 10, 1944	Ivanoe Bonomi (2nd term)
December 12, 1944	June 19, 1945	Ivanoe Bonomi (3rd term)
June 21, 1945	November 24, 1945	Ferruccio Parri
December 10, 1945	-	Alcide De Gasperi

Italian Republic (from 1946)

#	image	Surname	Taking office	Resignation	Political party	Remarks	Prime Ministers timeline
Constituent Assembly (1946–1948)
1		Alcide De Gasperi	July 13, 1946	January 28, 1947	DC	2. Term of office
			February 2, 1947	May 31, 1947		3. Term of office
			May 31, 1947	May 23, 1948		4. Term of office
1st legislative period (1948–1953)
(1)		Alcide De Gasperi	May 23, 1948	January 14, 1950	DC	5. Term of office
			January 27, 1950	July 19, 1951		6. Term of office
			July 26, 1951	July 7, 1953		7. Term of office
2nd legislative period (1953–1958)
(1)		Alcide De Gasperi	July 16, 1953	2nd August 1953	DC	8. Term of office
2		Giuseppe Pella	17th August 1953	January 12, 1954	DC
3		Amintore Fanfani	January 18, 1954	February 8, 1954	DC
4th		Mario Scelba	February 10, 1954	2nd July 1955	DC
5		Antonio Segni	July 6, 1955	May 15, 1957	DC
6th		Adone Zoli	May 19, 1957	July 1, 1958	DC
3rd legislative period (1958–1963)
(3)		Amintore Fanfani	July 1, 1958	February 15, 1959	DC	2. Term of office
(5)		Antonio Segni	February 15, 1959	March 23, 1960	DC	2. Term of office
7th		Fernando Tambroni	March 25, 1960	July 26, 1960	DC
(3)		Amintore Fanfani	July 26, 1960	February 21, 1962	DC	3. Term of office
			February 21, 1962	June 21, 1963		4. Term of office
4th legislative period (1963–1968)
8th		Giovanni Leone	June 21, 1963	4th December 1963	DC
9		Aldo Moro	4th December 1963	July 22, 1964	DC
			July 22, 1964	February 23, 1966		2. Term of office
			February 23, 1966	June 24, 1968		3. Term of office
5th legislative period (1968–1972)
(8th)		Giovanni Leone	June 24, 1968	December 12, 1968	DC	2. Term of office
10		Mariano Rumor	December 12, 1968	5th August 1969	DC
			5th August 1969	March 23, 1970		2. Term of office
			March 27, 1970	August 6, 1970		3. Term of office
11		Emilio Colombo	August 6, 1970	17th February 1972	DC
12		Giulio Andreotti	17th February 1972	June 26, 1972	DC
6th legislative period (1972–1976)
(12)		Giulio Andreotti	June 26, 1972	7th July 1973	DC	2. Term of office
(10)		Mariano Rumor	7th July 1973	March 14, 1974	DC	4. Term of office
			March 14, 1974	23rd November 1974		5. Term of office
(9)		Aldo Moro	23rd November 1974	February 12, 1976	DC	4. Term of office
			February 12, 1976	July 29, 1976		5. Term of office
7th legislative period (1976–1979)
(12)		Giulio Andreotti	July 29, 1976	March 11, 1978	DC	3. Term of office
			March 11, 1978	March 20, 1979		4. Term of office
			March 20, 1979	4th August 1979		5. Term of office
8th legislative period (1979–1983)
13		Francesco Cossiga	4th August 1979	April 4, 1980	DC
			April 4, 1980	October 18, 1980		2. Term of office
14th		Arnaldo Forlani	October 18, 1980	June 26, 1981	DC
15th		Giovanni Spadolini	June 28, 1981	23rd August 1982	PRI
			23rd August 1982	1st December 1982		2. Term of office
(3)		Amintore Fanfani	1st December 1982	4th August 1983	DC	5. Term of office
9th legislative period (1983–1987)
16		Bettino Craxi	4th August 1983	August 1, 1986	PSI
			August 1, 1986	April 17, 1987		2. Term of office
(3)		Amintore Fanfani	April 17, 1987	July 28, 1987	DC	6. Term of office
10th legislative period (1987–1992)
17th		Giovanni Goria	July 28, 1987	April 13, 1988	DC
18th		Ciriaco De Mita	April 13, 1988	July 22, 1989	DC
(12)		Giulio Andreotti	July 22, 1989	April 12, 1991	DC	6. Term of office
			April 12, 1991	June 28, 1992		7. Term of office
11th legislative period (1992–1994)
19th		Giuliano Amato	June 28, 1992	April 28, 1993	PSI
20th		Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	April 28, 1993	May 10, 1994	Non-party
12th legislative period (1994–1996)
21st		Silvio Berlusconi	May 10, 1994	January 17, 1995	FI
22nd		Lamberto Dini	January 17, 1995	May 17, 1996	Non-party
13th legislative period (1996-2001)
23		Romano Prodi	May 18, 1996	October 21, 1998	L'Ulivo
24		Massimo D'Alema	October 21, 1998	December 22, 1999	DS
			December 22, 1999	April 25, 2000		2. Term of office
(19)		Giuliano Amato	April 25, 2000	June 11, 2001	L'Ulivo	2. Term of office
14th legislative period (2001-2006)
(21)		Silvio Berlusconi	June 11, 2001	April 23, 2005	FI	2. Term of office
			April 23, 2005	May 17, 2006		3. Term of office
15th legislative period (2006-2008)
(23)		Romano Prodi	May 17, 2006	May 8, 2008	L'Ulivo	2. Term of office
16th legislative period (2008-2013)
(21)		Silvio Berlusconi	May 8, 2008	November 12, 2011	PdL	4. Term of office
25th		Mario Monti	November 16, 2011	April 28, 2013	Non-party
17th legislative period (2013-2018)
26th		Enrico Letta	April 28, 2013	February 22, 2014	PD
27		Matteo Renzi	February 22, 2014	December 12, 2016	PD
28		Paolo Gentiloni	December 12, 2016	June 1, 2018	PD
18th legislative period (2018–)
29		Giuseppe Conte	June 1, 2018	5th September 2019	Non-party
			5th September 2019			2. Term of office

Longest reign since 1946

rank	Surname	P #	Term of office	Periods
01	Silvio Berlusconi	21st	9 years and 53 days 0 years and 251 days + 4 years and 340 days + 3 years and 192 days	1994-1995
				2001-2006
				2008-2011
02	Giulio Andreotti	12	7 years and 122 days 1 year and 140 days + 3 years and 6 days + 2 years and 341 days	1972-1973
				1976-1979
				1989-1992
03	Alcide De Gasperi	01	7 years and 35 days	1946-1953
04th	Aldo Moro	09	6 years and 87 days 4 years and 203 days + 1 year and 249 days	1963-1968
				1974-1976
05	Amintore Fanfani	03	4 years and 200 days 0 years and 22 days + 0 years and 229 days + 2 years and 331 days + 0 years and 246 days + 0 years and 102 days	Jan. – Feb. 1954
				1958-1959
				1960-1963
				1982-1983
				Apr. – Jul. 1987
06th	Romano Prodi	23	4 years and 148 days 2 years and 156 days + 1 year and 357 days	1996-1998
				2006-2008
07th	Bettino Craxi	16	3 years and 256 days	1983-1987
08th	Mariano Rumor	10	3 years and 10 days 1 year and 237 days + 1 year and 138 days	1968-1970
				1973-1974
09	Antonio Segni	05	2 years and 357 days 1 year and 318 days + 1 year and 39 days	1955-1957
				1959-1960
10	Matteo Renzi	27	2 years and 294 days	2014-2016
0-	Giuseppe Conte	29	2 years and 85 days	since 2018

See also

• Political System of Italy # Constitution
• History of Italy # Republic of Italy

Web links

• Official website of the Government of Italy (Italian)
• List of heads of state and government of Italy. World Statesmen.org (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Statuto Albertino , Constitution of Sardinia-Piedmont and from 1861 Italy, came into force on March 4, 1848; did not provide for a prime minister. Office created de facto on March 16, 1848 with the Balbo Cabinet , seamlessly taken over in 1861 ( Cabinet Cavour III / IV). Details on camera.it
2. ↑ The President of the Council of Ministers is first appointed by the President and then confirmed by Parliament by means of a vote of confidence.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Article 92 of the Constitution
4. ↑ Article 94, second sentence.
5. ↑ SPIEGEL ONLINE: Conte sworn in as the new head of government . In: SPIEGEL ONLINE . June 1, 2018 ( spiegel.de [accessed June 1, 2018]).
6. ↑ legge n. 2263 del 24 December 1925 . See also legge n.100 del 31 gennaio 1926 .
7. ^ Italian constitution in Italian and German wording (PDF) Internet site for the Trentino-South Tyrol region
8. ↑ Legal basis for the authority of the Prime Minister to give instructions to the special forces (198/2015, Art. 7 bis)
9. ↑ The term of office in the Kingdom of Italy is not taken into account here.